Counterspin: It is simple – the Macedonian people and language are non-negotiable

The simple solution of accepting the past, as Zaharieva says, would cause enormous consequences for North Macedonia. And Bulgaria, in addition to renaming all historical figures and events from the end of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, in addition to denying the identity of the Macedonian people and language, will receive at least two more gifts: falsification of historical truth that in the Second World War they were occupiers of the territory of Macedonia and that there is no Macedonian minority in Bulgaria

 

Author: Teofil Blazhevski

 

Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ekaterina Zaharieva, in a recent statement on relations with North Macedonia and the demands from Sofia for a green light for EU negotiations, said the following spin:

Spin: You see, these (Bulgarian demands) are not new. Those things were always set by Bulgaria, not only for the 2017 Treaty, but if you remember in 2012 also, but then in front of another Commission, another Government in Bulgaria – not only Greece, which was pointed out as the main culprit – also was unable to say YES.

So, just as we acknowledge reality, they must acknowledge the past. It is very simple, there is nothing complicated about this.

[Source:  BGNES/YouTube – Zaharieva’s statement – date: 28 October 2020]

 

 

Counterspin: Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ekaterina Zaharieva, in a statement to Bulgarian media on the issue of approving an intergovernmental conference on RNM accession talks with the EU, said that the work was very simple – the state of the Republic of North Macedonia has to recognize the past!

This statement is a twisted truth, i.e. a spin, because what she presents as a simple thing is, in fact, a mission impossible in practice. This is because Bulgaria’s demands towards Macedonia are not “simple” at all, but are demands on very sensitive issues concerning a sovereign state and its people.

According to Zaharieva’s statement, the main problem that Bulgaria presents to the EU and the public is that, contrary to the obligation of good neighborliness and friendship, Skopje deliberately hinders the implementation of the Treaty signed between the two countries in 2017, especially in the part of the work of the joint commission for historical issues.

But, this is only the formal part, because it is clear that this Commission stopped its work at the request of the Macedonian side, due to the early elections that were first scheduled in April, then conducted in July, and resumed work in early October at a new meeting in Skopje. Within the issues handled by the Commission, the work is stalled around the persona of Goce Delčev, with the Bulgarian side insisting that he be recognized by the Macedonian side as a Bulgarian by nationality and as a Bulgarian national hero who fought for the freedom of Macedonia, but in a geographical sense as part of the then Ottoman Empire.

Although this Commission has reached an agreement on five points so far, this is not recognized as a success by the Bulgarian official policy, but as slow work and poor results, and the blame is shifted to the Macedonian side. All this, however, is a formal reason that Sofia presents to the EU to justify its right to say no. The essence is in another request of Bulgaria, which Zaharieva put so simply – Macedonia should have recognized its past.

And the past is very well described in the documents and statements from Sofia so far. From the Declaration of the Bulgarian Parliament proposed by the Government in 2019, through the Memorandum sent by the Bulgarian Government to Brussels in September 2020 (based on previous documents from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences – BAS), to the daily statements of Ministers Krasimir Karakachnov and Zaharieva about the non-existence of an authentic Macedonian language (according to her this language was an artificial creation), to the non-existence of the Macedonian people and self-awareness until 1944, when they were allegedly artificially created under the command of Marshal Tito and through ASNOM, the first Assembly at which the foundations of the modern Macedonian state were laid. Until then, it was a Western-Bulgarian dialect of the Bulgarian language and the Bulgarian self-awareness of the people, who, in 1944 were forced to declare themselves Macedonian. What are, in fact, Sofia’s demands?

 

What are the formal requirements to which the Government in Sofia adheres to?

According to the Declaration of the Bulgarian Parliament, Bulgaria supports the accession agenda for North Macedonia and Albania, but previously requires RNM to meet the following conditions:

• Efficient and immediate implementation of the 2017 Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighborliness and Cooperation.
• Strict adherence to Article 8 of the Treaty that “objective, authentic, historical sources shall be based on evidence of scientific interpretation of historical events”.
• Refraining from actions that support and encourage claims for recognition of the so-called Macedonian minority in Bulgaria, including international organizations.
• Rehabilitation of victims repressed due to Bulgarian self-awareness.
• Strict adherence to the clause regarding the official language of the Republic of North Macedonia established and ratified by the parliaments of both countries.
• Full implementation of the agreements reached by the Joint Interdisciplinary Committee of Experts on Historical and Educational Issues and their inclusion in educational plans and materials.
• Termination of the hate speech against Bulgaria and the citizens of the Republic of North Macedonia with Bulgarian self-awareness, including media, inscriptions on monuments, etc.
• Restoration and maintenance of Bulgarian military cemeteries and monuments on the territory of the Republic of North Macedonia.

One of the last demands conveyed by the Bulgarian diplomacy in Brussels, as a proposal to be considered, is about the non-usage of the abbreviated name North Macedonia because it could be understood that implies territorial claims of Skopje.

 

What would be the consequences for North Macedonia?

This is, in short, the “historical past” and present that the Government in Skopje should accept so that RNM can get a green light in December for the start of negotiations with the EU. The consequences of this “accepting of the past”, as Zaharieva would say, would, of course, be enormous for the Republic of North Macedonia. Bulgaria, on the other hand, in addition to renaming all historical figures and events from the end of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, in addition to denying the identity of the Macedonian people and language, will receive at least two more gifts: falsification of historical truth that in the Second World War they were occupiers of the territory of Macedonia and that there is no Macedonian minority in Bulgaria.

The state’s top officials, above all, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and President Stevo Pendarovski, despite being careful with the choice of words, on 29 October 2020 unanimously said: there is no compromise on identity issues and no negotiations about the Macedonian language. These are facts and historical truths which can be debated by history experts but are things that are not negotiable. As Zaharieva would say, it is so simple and there is nothing complicated about this, right?

 

 

 

 

All comments and remarks regarding this and other Vistinomer articles, correction and clarification requests as well as suggestions for fact-checking politicians’ statements and political parties’ promises can be submitted by using this form